Disclaimer : I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its official characters... Life is cruel that way...

WARNINGS : This fic will contain YAOI and SHOUNEN AI, meaning maleXmale relationships. Don't like, don't read. Simple as that. You've been warned. Flames will be royally ignored. Also, this story is AU, and thus may contain some OOCness. Sorry about that, hope you don't mind !

Pairings : Heero/Duo (1x2), Trowa/Quatre (3x4), Wufei/Meiran (5xM), maybe some others later...

Author's note: Hi ! (waves) Alright, this is my first GW fic, so please go easy on me Ok ? (winks) Or at least, don't hit me too hard ! Anyway, I just hope you'll like the story, and please don't be afraid to review, it makes my day every time !

Before we begin, I'd like to introduce my two muses, Akari and Raiu !

Akari : Hello everyone ! (smiles)

Raiu : Whatever...

You can ignore Raiu, she's a pest.

Raiu : And you can ignore Cherry-chan, she's a-

Akari : (clamps her hands over Raiu's mouth)

Thanks Akari-chan. (glares at Raiu) Anyway, that's done with, so now let's get on with the fic !

Important note

Although I based my story on a real historical period in England, meaning at the beginning of the reign of James Stuart The First (1603-1625 / that's the duration of his reign, not his life), I changed many facts and added or replaced some important personages. Don't take everything written down here for granted, and go check it out if you wanna know if it's real ! Usually there will be more information given at the bottom of the pages.

.: Carried out to sea :.

by cherry fantasy

Prologue

England, City of Westminster, July 30, 1603

The boy sighed, absently playing with his long braid of silky chestnut hair. His violet gaze surveyed his surroundings, seeking distraction without much success. He was bored. Simply, completely and royally, bored.

Duo finally let go of his braid and swung it back carelessly, heaving another sigh. If you'd think a manor as big and luxurious as the one he was living in would offer at least some sort of entertainment, well you'd be greatly mistaking. As it was, a cemetery was more animated... He could always go play a prank on one of the servants, maybe the ever-grumpy Jenkins, but Duo had reached a point where even himself was running short of original ideas. Just ask the manor's staff, they'd confirm !

Duo glanced around once more, not that he really needed to ; he knew the scenery by heart. The Maxwell Manor's gardens were some of the most beautiful in all England, envied and praised by many. The manor in itself was an impressive piece of art, still standing proud after two whole centuries and many Maxwell generations. White in color with golden trimmings and a red roof, it could easily compete with some of the Royal Residences. Very large and four floors high, the manor was resting on a headland facing the ocean, which was no surprise considering the family's history, who'd always held high ranks in the British Marine...

That history had finally reached its apogee a few years ago, with Duo's father becoming Lord High Admiral of England, named by Queen Elisabeth herself. A great honor, to say the least.

Out of all the places the Maxwell Manor could offer, Duo had always preferred the gardens. There he could sit and watch the sea, dreaming of adventure and fantastic journeys... Dreaming only, because there was no way his father would ever let him do it for real. Lord John Thomas Maxwell was a good man, but a man of principles first and foremost, and he'd already clearly stated that he couldn't let his son rove the seas like a mere pirate.

Duo sighed for the hundredth time. If only his mother was still there... But she wasn't, Duo thought bitterly. Lady Sophia Maxwell had died of tuberculosis when he was merely four years old. Now Duo was sixteen, and all he could remember of his mother was her long chestnut hair, her soft voice and the way she'd always been ready to play with him at every hour of the day. She'd loved adventure too, he knew it... The only reason she'd settled down was because she'd loved her husband even more.

Duo rose from the stone bench he'd been sitting on and walked through the gardens, coming to a stop a few steps farther at the edge of the headland. He stared longingly at the setting sun, letting the wind ruffle his light brown bangs... He'd always thought that he wasn't fitted to live the life of an aristocrat. Everything was just so... boring. Anyhow, that was is opinion, but of course his father would hear none of it. «You'll get use to it», he would say, and then he would inevitably add : «Look at Solo, he's perfectly fine with it !».

"But I am NOT Solo !" Duo thought with an angry frown. Solo was his older brother by three years. Him and Duo were very close, yet so very different... Like their father, Solo had short blonde hair and emerald green eyes. And like their father, Solo was comfortable with all that was rich clothes, diplomatic talk, receptions, late breakfast, balls, mundane meetings, and all the such.

Duo, on his part, took from their mother. Like she had, he sought freedom and adventure, something his position couldn't quite give him... His motto was : run and hide, but never tell a lie. In a world where word play and half-truths were practically common speech, his flagrant honesty had caused him trouble at first, and so Duo had learned how to soften the blow : he never lied, but when necessary, he could twist the truth in a way that most people at the Court would've envied him. Not one who liked to just sit around obediently and talk polite nonsense with other aristocrats, Duo greatly preferred to stay at home rather than to go out among them.

Which brought him back to the reason of why he was presently so bored : his father and Solo were presently out in town, gone at the Globe theater to see a piece from this newly famous writer and actor, a certain William Shakespeare. Five days prior, on July 25, James Stuart had been crowned new King of England (like being the Scotland King wasn't enough already...), placing the whole kingdom in a state of excitation and festivities (which Duo couldn't quite understand... from his point of vue, replacing one dictator by another wasn't such a great thing to celebrate).

Anyhow, the new sovereign had quickly adopted Shakespeare and his troop, naming them the King's Men. Their reputation was spreading fast, and the Globe theater was holding representations at least twice a day. Duo's father, now one of King James' favorites, had insisted that they went to see a representation, and the sooner the better. Choosing an evening during which the King himself would be present at the Globe, Lord Maxwell had then tried to coax his sons to follow him. Solo had agreed pleasantly, but Duo, of course, had declined the offer. Hence him being left at the manor while his father and brother were having "fun" (as they called it) in town.

This didn't really pose a problem, in fact. Of course Lord Maxwell would've preferred both his sons to come with him, but as Solo was his oldest and his heir until further notice, he was the one who needed to make most appearances in society, and thus it wasn't an obligation for Duo to show up more than common courtesy demanded (to Duo's own relief).

And so the youngest Maxwell heir was now standing alone on the headland, watching as the first stars started to appear in the darkening sky. They twinkled and reflected brilliantly into the waves, bringing the sea to life under his gaze... It's not like Duo had never sailed before, quite the contrary. When he'd been born, his father was already vice-admiral, and very early in his life Duo had been introduced to the ocean. By now he'd been on boats many times, and to him, not a feeling in the world could rival with the freedom sailing brought him. Sadly, all he'd ever sailed for was when his father agreed to bring him along in business trips or scouting missions, which wasn't very exciting.

Duo wanted more. He wanted to go over seas and explore the world, he wanted to go with the wind, fight pirates and discover new lands...

"This is wishful thinking" Duo suddenly spoke up to himself, interrupting his musings. "I'll never have that kind of freedom. Father will never allow it, and it's not like I could just go and run away... I can't do that to him and Solo, and besides, he'd probably send the entire British Navy after me if I was ever to disappear like that !"

Duo smirked a little at that thought, knowing that it was true.

With a last dejected sigh, he turned away from the ocean and started his walk back toward the manor, planning on getting to bed early. He had nothing else better to do, and he knew that his father and Solo would only be back at some late hour of the night, if not by early morning. Sleeping would make time go faster, and with luck Duo would find something interesting to do in the morrow.

Stopping in front of twin glass doors, Duo took one last glance over his shoulder, letting his eyes linger for mere seconds onto the moving surface of the sea, before finally stepping into the house. With a derisive shrug, he said out loud :

"Too bad. It must not be in my destiny to be free and have fun"

Little did he know, Destiny has some very wicked ways... And it had planned something just as wicked for the night...

A/N : Alright, this was merely the introduction, there will be more action in the next chapter ! So, what did you think ? Good or bad ?

Raiu : Awful, that's what it was.

Yeah well I didn't ask you !

Akari : I liked it !

(glomps Akari) Thanks ! Anyway, please review everyone ! Come on, just a few words !

# In my story, I made Duo's father Lord High Admiral (which is a title that really existed by the way. It was the highest rank in the British Marine at that time). But in truth the real Lord High Admiral during that period was Charles Howard (1585-1619).

# The Maxwell Manor is fictional, I merely invented it for the purpose of my story. I don't think such a place ever existed in England during that period, or if it did I don't know about it.

# Queen Elisabeth the First is the one who ruled England just before James Stuart the First. This one, born in 1566, was first king of Scots, from 1567 to 1625 (the year of his death), under the name of James VI. When Elisabeth I of England died, James Stuart became king of England (officially crowned on July 25, 1603) as well as king of Ireland, under the name of James I. He was the first to style himself King of Great Britain. His queen was Anne of Denmark and Norway ; she died on March 4, 1619.

# The Globe Theater is a real place, and it still exists in England today.

# All I mentionned about Shakespeare and the King's Men is true as well.

Ok, that's about it for now... Review&review !